Ruplal House

Ruplal House is a grand 19th century building in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was built by two Hindu merchants, brothers named Ruplal Das and Raghunath, on the northern bank of Buriganga in the Farashgonj locality overlooking a riverfront promenade. The architecture of the two-story Ruplal House is unique, in that it is divided into two unequal blocks built in slightly different styles. The building contains over fifty rooms of various sizes including a number of spacious halls. In 1888, when Lord Dufferin, the Viceroy of India visited Dhaka, a ball was arranged in his honour in the dance hall of this mansion. Today, the Ruplal House is occupied by local spice and vegetable merchants and a colony of unauthorized squatters. It has recently been "protected" by the Bengali Department of Archaeology.